RESEARCH STUDY

The Culture Factor: Improving Employee Loyalty & Relationships

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

SURVEY METHODOLOGY & OBJECTIVES

KEY FINDINGS & TRENDS

Culture Eats Engagement for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

To Build a Strong Culture, Emphasize Respect, Fairness, Trust and Integrity Over Transactional Engagement

Pre-Boarding Is the New On-Boarding

Job Guidance, Positive Recognition and Shift/Schedule Flexibility Go a Long Way to Motivate Employees Long-Term

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Job Security and Benefits in Shaping Job Satisfaction

Companies Are Too Stuck in their Ways When It Comes to Culture Improvements

Workplace Relationships Are the Lifeblood of Culture and Engagement

Lack of Guidance and Unclear Instructions Create Friction Between Employees and Managers

Poor Internal Communications, Lack of Team Unity and Toxic Culture Can Tear Apart Workplace Relationships

CONCLUSION

ABOUT SPEAKAP

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INTRODUCTION

SURVEY METHODOLOGY & OBJECTIVES

Workplace culture cannot be represented by a

single attribute or offering. Instead, it’s the sum of

a company’s values, traditions, beliefs, interactions,

behaviors and attitudes. When a company makes a

serious commitment and takes pride in how its values

and beliefs are embodied throughout its workforce,

it can attract top-notch talent, increase happiness,

create a sense of fulfilment, positively impact

performance and ultimately, improve employee

relationships, loyalty and retention.

When you read HR industry trend reports and news

articles about employee satisfaction, engagement is

often the star of the show. In today’s digitally focused

workplaces, many HR practitioners place a greater

emphasis on driving transactional engagement than

building and sustaining a culture that’s fair, trusting,

respectful, collaborative, accountable, transparent

and inspiring. But as our study’s findings indicate, the

emphasis needs to shift towards culture - and how it

plays a direct role in shaping, influencing and even

improving employee happiness, relationships (from

the bottom to the top), loyalty and retention.

In this research study, we will explore the various

embodiments of culture within organizations, the

ways in which companies communicate culture (and

any changes to it) and the positive and negative

impacts of culture on employee satisfaction,

workplace relationships and loyalty.

We surveyed over 1,000 employees in the United

States and the United Kingdom to understand the

various embodiments of culture within organizations,

the ways in which companies communicate culture

(and any changes to it) and the positive and negative

impacts of culture on employee satisfaction,

workplace relationships and loyalty. The survey

was fielded in April 2019 and targeted employees

across a variety of business categories, including

retail, hospitality, entertainment, manufacturing,

construction and consumer packaged goods.

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KEY FINDINGS & TRENDSCulture Eats Engagement for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

We’ve all heard the adage - culture eats strategy

for breakfast. But in the digital workplace, strategy

has now been replaced by engagement. And as our

study’s findings indicate, culture eats engagement

for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the race to win

over employees’ satisfaction, loyalty and retention.

This is supported by the fact that 74 percent of

the surveyed US and UK employees said culture is

important to them and another 58 percent said they

would take a job with a competing company if the

new company had a better culture than the current

one. Just imagine if a company has 10,000 employees

and over half of those employees would gladly leave

to join a competing company simply because it has a

better culture.

As if that isn’t enough to make HR and employee

experience practitioners believe in the importance of

culture, we decided to take it a step further and asked

the respondents to choose between two options -

to work 60 hours per week or work for a company

that doesn’t value culture. The responses were

enlightening. Almost half (48 percent) said they’d

gladly work longer hours than sacrifice culture, while

27 percent said they’d rather work for a company

that doesn’t value culture. Another 25 percent said

they don’t know which option they’d choose in this

scenario.

But the real eye-opener came upon dissecting and

analyzing the country-specific findings. It highlighted

just how different employee beliefs, values and

priorities are in each country. Our data suggests that

culture is far more important to American employees,

while British employees place a higher premium

on their personal time. In particular, 55 percent of

the US respondents chose the 60 hour workweek,

compared to their UK counterparts (42 percent).

Meanwhile, 22 percent of the US respondents said

they would prefer to work for a company that doesn’t

value culture, while a higher number (33 percent) of

UK respondents chose this same option.

Is company culture important to you?

What is the culture like at your workplace?

Chart 1

Chart 2

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

To say culture matters is a severe understatement.

But when you consider that 27 percent of the global

respondents either said culture didn’t matter to them,

or they weren’t sure, paints an even bleeker image

for employee happiness and loyalty. This is made

worse by the fact that over one-third (35 percent) of

the global respondents described their work culture

as ‘average,’ while 14 percent described it as ‘neutral,’

7 percent admitted to having a toxic culture and

3 percent confirmed their company has no culture

at all.

Although a higher number of US respondents (45

percent) described their culture as ‘positive’ than UK

respondents (36 percent), that doesn’t necessarily

mean it’s all good news for American employees and

their employers. Plus, the amount of US respondents

(9 percent) who admitted to having a toxic culture

is nearly double the amount of UK respondents (5

percent) who expressed similar views.

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Would you ever take a job at a competing company because you felt its culture is/would be better than your current company’s culture?

Would you rather work 60 hours per week or work at a company that doesn’t value culture?

Chart 3

Chart 4

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

To Build a Strong Culture, Emphasize Respect, Fairness, Trust & Integrity Over Transactional Engagement

Now that we have surmised that culture is important

in improving employee satisfaction and loyalty, it’s

important to understand what specific attributes

contribute to a strong workplace culture. So we asked

this specific question to the global respondents and

the following responses ranked as the three most

important attributes of a strong culture - respect and

fairness (39 percent), trust and integrity (23 percent)

and teamwork (9 percent).

However, only 2 percent of the global respondents

said employee engagement was a key attribute of

a strong culture and just 2 percent felt transparent

communications made an impact. If you look at

these responses, they reiterate what we were saying

earlier - transactional engagement isn’t what

companies should be prioritizing if they want

to create a positive, collaborative and trusting

culture that attracts top talent, increases employee

happiness and cultivates loyalty.

As you can see from these findings, these attributes

have nothing to do with superficial perks and

amenities like video gaming rooms, foosball and/

or ping pong tables and free meals/stocked fridges.

Rather, they have everything to do with beliefs,

values, behaviors and attitudes. This requires

organizations to focus on building a workplace

culture based on trust, respect, fairness and integrity.

When your culture embodies these characteristics

from within (and outwards), your organization will

benefit immensely.

When we compared the responses from the US

and UK respondents, there were some interesting

differences in the most important attributes of

a strong culture. For instance, 45 percent of the

surveyed UK respondents cited respect and fairness

as the most important attribute of a strong culture,

while just 34 percent of the surveyed US respondents

cited the same response.

The sad fact of the matter is that many companies

today mistake physical perks or amenities as being a

critical part of workplace culture. But they simply are

not. By focusing on providing superficial perks, such

as free lunches/snacks/beverages, ping pong and/or

foosball tables, video games, yoga, social outings/

events and posters illustrating the company’s

values on walls, companies are proving that they

don’t understand what culture truly means, how it

should be activated and how it can positively (and

negatively) impact the employee experience. This

misunderstanding, at its core, is where companies

need to begin if they want to improve their workplace

culture.

More often than not, companies either don’t

recognize that they have a culture problem - or don’t

know what signs to look for to foster a positive,

respectful, trusting and fair workplace culture.

Below are some key signs that a culture problem exists within your organization.

∙ Employeesaren’tsmiling,jokingandoverall,haveamorereserved,seriousdemeanor.

∙ Employeesdon’tfeelcomfortableand/orsafeexpressingopinionsfreelyandprovidinghonestfeedbacktosuperiors.

∙ Rulesandpoliciesareconsideredtobemoreimportantthanthejudgmentandexpertiseofemployees.

∙ Employeesaregivenlittletonolatitudetoperformtheirjobsduetomicromanagementand/orlackoftrust.

∙ It’sacommonfactthatthecultureistoxic,butnooneopenlydiscussesitorraisesconcernstoHRduetounavailabilityorineffectualnessoftheHRteam.

∙ Thegossipmillisrunningrampantacrossmultipleteamsanddepartments.

∙ Employeesarefearfulofnegativeconsequencesforspeakingupandoutaboutproblems.

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Once your organization recognizes and acknowledges the signs of an ineffective, poor or toxic culture, you will

be better equipped to tackle the problem head-on and drive true change management within your organization.

Which one of the following is the most important attribute of a strong culture?

Chart 5

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

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Pre-Boarding Is the New On-Boarding

First impressions count. It only takes seven seconds

to make a first impression on another human being,

according to a Harvard study of communication. Just

as important as first impressions are in our everyday

lives, they also matter in the workplace. To that end,

we asked the global respondents what makes them

feel connected to a company’s culture during the

first 30 days on the job. 19 percent of the global

respondents said being invited to join an employee

communications app and communicate with

colleagues before the first day of work and another

19 percent reported being assigned a buddy/mentor

prior to the first day. Additionally, 21 percent of the

global respondents said sharing the organization’s

mission, vision, values and underlying assumptions

had the greatest impact on their alignment with the

company’s culture.

The aforementioned responses, in particular, should

have significant meaning and weight for employers

all over the world and reiterates what we’ve been

seeing in our experiences over the last several years.

Pre-boarding is just as important, if not more, than

the on-boarding process. Rather than waiting to

onboard new employees on the first day of work,

companies will see better results if they start

engaging with new employees from the moment an

offer of employment is extended. The data from our

study reiterates this point many times over.

When we analyzed the country-specific responses,

there were variations that may reflect specific

cultural values and employment practices of those

countries. For instance, being invited to join an

employee communications app and communicate

with colleagues prior to the first day is ranked

highest (22 percent) by the UK respondents, while it

is ranked lower (15 percent) by the US respondents.

Plus, 24 percent of the US respondents feel it’s far

more important to be able to share the organization’s

mission, vision, values and underlying assumptions

and 19 percent want to be invited to participate in

multiple onboarding and training sessions in the

first 30 days on the job. Team bonding also seems

to be a bigger priority in the US, with 10 percent of

the US respondents citing a team/supervisor lunch

as beneficial in the first 30 days, compared to just 5

percent of the UK responses.

Conversely, our study’s findings reveal that HR

check-ins simply aren’t as meaningful or important

to employees as HR teams might think. In fact, only

5 percent of the US respondents and 4 percent

of the UK respondents believe that a first month

HR check-in would make them feel connected to

their company’s culture. This goes to show you the

problems that can arise when perceptions don’t

match reality. In this case, HR teams should re-

evaluate their onboarding processes for the first

30 days of employment to make sure it’s actually

meeting the needs and priorities of employees.

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Below are suggested tactics to include in your pre-boarding phase (before new hires start their first day).

Invitenewhirestojointhecompany’sdedicatedemployeecommunicationsappsotheycanstartseeingwhattheirnewcolleaguesareposting/sharingandbegininteractingwiththosecolleagues.

∙ Assignabuddy/mentorfromwithinthecompanytowelcomethenewhireandansweranyquestionstheymighthaveaboutthecompany’sculture,requiredattire/uniforms,schedulingprotocolsandanythingelsetheywanttoknow.Thisnotonlyhelpsnewhiresunderstandthecompany’svisionandprioritiesbetter,butitalsogivesthemaheadstartinforgingdigitalconnectionsandbondswiththeircolleagues.

∙ Setupemployeeswithlogins/accesstoanyHR,workforcemanagement,payrollandschedulingsystemspriortostarting.

∙ Encouragenewhirestosendacompany-wide“Hello,I’vearrivedorI’mjoiningsoon”typeofmessageontheemployeecommunicationsplatformtointroducethemselvesandprovidesomecontextontheirbackground,roleandevenpersonalinterests.

Remember, if HR teams simply do what they think employees want, it will not have a positive impact on

the workplace culture and it certainly won’t do much

to improve employee loyalty and retention in the

long-term.

As our data also suggests, receiving a welcome email

from the CEO isn’t as exciting or desired by new

employees as some companies might assume. In fact,

only 7 percent of the US respondents and 11 percent

of the UK respondents cited this as being tied to their

loyalty. One possible reason these percentages may

differ between the US and UK could be that American

employees are less swayed or influenced by this type

of gesture than their British counterparts. Another

reason could be that UK businesses run in a more

formal manner and their employees, as a result, are

more apt to want, appreciate and respect a welcome

email from the CEO.

Which one of the following makes you feel connected to a company’s culture during the first 30 days?

Chart 6

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

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Job Guidance, Positive Recognition and Shift/Schedule Flexibility Go a Long Way to Motivate Employees Long-Term

Once a new employee has officially started their first

day on the job, the pre-boarding phase ends and the

on-boarding phase begins. This should typically last

anywhere from between 30 to 90 days and shouldn’t

be a one-and-done approach.

The stakes are high in this phase and could make or

break a new hire’s employee experience before it

even has the chance to form. This is supported by

our study’s findings. More specifically, we asked the

global respondents what makes them feel connected

to a company’s culture after the first 30 days. The

responses to this question reiterate just how high

the culture stakes truly are. For instance, 27 percent

of the global respondents said ongoing job guidance

and support makes them feel connected to the

company culture, while 20 percent cited recognition

and rewards and 14 percent said shift/schedule

flexibility has a similar effect. If you consider that the

vast majority of deskless workers work in shifts that

can vary each day and sometimes run into the late

evening hours and weekends, it makes sense that

employees would consider shift/schedule flexibility

to be a contributing factor to workplace culture.

However, regular social outings/events (4 percent)

and access to tools/technology that improve

productivity (5 percent) both ranked lower on the list

of factors. The fact of the matter is that social outings/

events, while they are fun and appreciated, fall into

the superficial category of culture that we discussed

earlier. That doesn’t mean companies should ditch

hosting social outings for their employees; it simply

means that it shouldn’t be given the highest priority

or used as a replacement for other important

initiatives that will truly drive change management

and create a culture of trust, integrity, respect

and fairness.

When we analyzed country-specific responses,

here’s what we found. Shift/schedule flexibility

seems to matter more to US employees (15 percent)

than UK employees (13 percent). On the other hand,

UK employees care more about getting face-time

with management (17 percent) and constructive

feedback (16 percent), while American employees

care more about ongoing job guidance (28 percent)

and positive recognition and rewards (21 percent).

It’s interesting to note that access to technology/

tools ranked similarly low as a priority among both

US respondents (5 percent) and UK respondents

(5 percent).

Below are suggested tactics to include in your on-boarding phase (typically anywhere from 30-90 days).

∙ Iftheydidn’talreadydosoduringthepre-boardingphase,encouragenewhirestosendacompany-wide“Hello,I’vearrivedorI’mjoiningsoon”typeofmessageontheemployeecommunicationsplatformtointroducethemselvesandprovidesomecontextontheirbackground,roleandevenpersonalinterests.

∙ Invitenewhirestoattendmultipleonboardingsessionsoverthecourseoftheirfirst90daysonthejob.Thesecanincludevarioustopics,suchascompanymission/businessgoals,store/teamgoals,companycultureandvalues,organizationalandteamstructure,employeecodeofconduct,payroll/benefits,etc.

∙ Setupindividualmeetingsbetweennewhiresandtheirteam/differentdepartmentstounderstandwhattheirrolesare,howtheyexecutetheirroles,ifandhowcollaborationmayberequired,etc.

∙ Setuppersonalizedtrainingsessions(bothonlineandin-person)fornewhiresthatarespecifictotheirroles/responsibilities.Forexample,anewretailassociatemayneedtoattendmultipletrainingsessions(bothonlineandin-person)toproperlylearnhowtousethestore’spoint-of-sale(POS)system.

∙ Setup30,60and90daycheck-inswiththenewhire’sdirectmanager/supervisoraswellasHRtogaugevariousaspectsofthenewemployee’sexperience-includingobservations,challenges,feedback,areasforimprovementandquestions.

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Which one of the following makes you feel connected to a company after the first 30 days?

Chart 7

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Job Security and Benefits in Shaping Job Satisfaction

Amidst all the industry talk about culture and

engagement, sometimes the basics of job security

and benefits get lost behind other more important

attributes. But that doesn’t mean they are any

less important or should be prioritized any less.

The data from our study supports this, with job

security ranking as the clear winner (68 percent

rated it as having a high impact) when we asked

the global respondents to specify how much of an

impact various factors have on their job satisfaction.

Meanwhile, 58 percent of the global respondents

rated great benefits/perks as having a high level of

impact on their job satisfaction.

Surprisingly, learning and career development

opportunities (49 percent) was cited as having

less of an impact on job satisfaction than many

other factors, including good work-life balance

(65 percent), good relationships with supervisors

(60 percent), good relationships with colleagues (61

percent) and appreciation for work (66 percent).

Plus, only 41 percent rated alignment with company

values as having a high impact.

When we analyzed country-specific responses,

we found that job security was ranked as having

a higher impact on US employee satisfaction (74

percent) compared to UK employees (62 percent).

It’s somewhat surprising to see that a good work-

life balance has a higher impact (71 percent) on US

employee satisfaction compared to UK employees

(59 percent) given that UK companies and legislation

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are far more protective of employees’ rights. It’s

equally surprising considering the fact that Brexit

has caused a great deal of confusion and uncertainty

about European employees living in the UK and their

jobs. This could also be tied to the impending ‘right to

disconnect’ legislation that has been proposed (and

may be enforced) in the United States (New York, to

be specific).

Another reason American employees may place

a higher premium on job security than their UK

counterparts could be related to the current retail

apocalypse taking over the US. According to a recent

investment report by UBS, an estimated 75,000 US

stores that sell clothing, electronics and furniture will

close by 2026. This is in addition to the thousands of

retail store closures that have already been occuring.

Payless ShoeSource, for example, filed for Chapter

11 bankruptcy in February of this year and is closing

all 2,100 of its U.S. stores. Meanwhile, children’s

clothing retailer Gymboree is shutting down its 800

locations. The outlook for American retailers hasn’t

been looking too good over the last few years, with

UBS stating that retailers have closed more than

15,000 stores since 2017, including Radio Shack

(closed 1,470 stores), Toys R Us (closed 735 stores)

and GNC (closed 700 stores).

How much of an impact do each of the following factors have on your job satisfaction?

Chart 8

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

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Companies Are Too Stuck in their Ways When It Comes to Culture Improvements

Change can only happen when people are open to

listening to feedback and willing to acknowledge

that the current practices and approaches may not

be as effective as they believed. To put it in the words

of former Girl Scout CEO and Presidential Medal of

Freedom honoree Frances Hesselbein: “Culture does

not change because we desire to change it. Culture

changes when the organization is transformed -

the culture reflects the realities of people working

together everyday.” We couldn’t have said it any

better.

But as our research indicates, some companies aren’t

as open to change as their employees would like.

In fact, 32 percent of the global respondents said

their company is stuck in its ways and isn’t open to

suggested improvements to culture. To make

matters worse, 33 percent of the global respondents

admitted their companies don’t make an effort to

consistently audit and communicate culture changes/

enhancements. These are not inconsequential

findings at all. The fact of the matter is that

culture plays a direct and influential role in making

employees feel happy and ensuring their loyalty

(hence, reducing the likelihood of turnover).

If you don’t think culture has a direct correlation

to employee turnover, then think again. According

to Salary.com, turnover in the US hit 19.3 percent

in 2018, rising more than 3.5 percentage points

since 2014. Meanwhile, Monster estimates that

the average employee turnover rate in the UK is

10 percent per year. These numbers should not go

unnoticed by employers. If you aren’t willing to make

culture improvements, it could lead to frustrated,

less happy and less loyal employees, which can lead

to high turnover.

What’s also interesting is that companies in the

US and UK opt for more traditional methods and

channels to communicate culture (or changes to

it) to their employees. When we asked the global

respondents to specify in which ways they see

culture (or changes to it) communicated at their

company, the most common method was via in-

person meetings (37 percent). This demonstrates

that, as much as digital, mobile and social devices and

tools have added choice, convenience and control

to our lives, there is still a real need and desire for

human interactions in the workplace. For employers,

the message is clear: find a healthy balance between

digital communications and human interactions

with your employees. Don’t rely too heavily on one

or the other, otherwise you won’t be delivering an

employee experience that meets your employees’

wants and needs.

Our data also suggests that it’s more common for UK

companies to communicate culture changes to their

employees through company-wide feed updates

sent via an employee comms app/tool (22 percent)

than it is for American companies (16 percent) to

do so in this manner. Also, British employers are

more likely to send group-specific messages via an

employee comms app/tool (16 percent) compared

to US employers (10 percent). This could indicate

that US companies aren’t personalizing their

internal communications enough. However, our

data suggests that American companies are more

inclined (43 percent) to use in-person meetings to

communicate culture changes to employees than

their UK counterparts (32 percent).

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Is your company open to suggested improvements to culture, or is it stuck in its ways?

Chart 9

In which ways do you see culture (or changes to it) communicated at your company?

Chart 10

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

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Workplace Relationships Are the Lifeline of Culture and Engagement

Workplace relationships are one of the most critical,

often overlooked, element of company culture.

Yet, so many companies prioritize transactional

communications and engagement initiatives as a

means of reducing turnover. But the answer is often

staring them right in the face.

When employees enjoy working with their

colleagues, they feel happier and are less stressed.

When employees have strong bonds across the

entire organization, they feel more energized; they

come into work with a renewed sense of purpose

every day; they act as brand champions outside of

work too. The data from our study supports this:

94 percent of the global respondents said having a

positive working relationship with their manager is

either very important or important.

But the negative consequences of having

poor working relationships can have serious

repercussions. According to our study’s findings,

13 percent of the global respondents admitted that

they don’t have a positive relationship with their

direct/line manager. In the UK, specifically, the

percentage for this finding went up slightly (14

percent), while it dropped somewhat for US

respondents (11 percent). Nevertheless, this is

still a startling and unfortunate finding. If you

consider a UK retailer with 50,000 employees, 14

percent is equivalent to 7,000 employees with poor

relationships with their managers. And if you take

a retailer in the US with the same number of

employees, that 11 percent comes to 5,500

employees who don’t get along with their managers.

Those are not small numbers, by any means.

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Do you have a positive working relationship with your direct/line manager?

Chart 12

How important is it for you to have a positive working relationship with your direct/line manager?

Chart 11

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

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Lack of Guidance and Unclear Instructions Create Friction Between Employees and Managers

The relationship between employees and their

managers has often been a complicated one and

one that requires active investment, participation

and understanding from both parties. But in some

instances, something goes wrong and this leads

to a strained relationship. But the cause for this

breakdown can often be tough to pinpoint.

To that end, we asked the global respondents

to specify their biggest complaint about their

relationship with their direct/line manager. Lack of

guidance and support ranked high, at 14 percent,

while unclear instructions provided for tasks

followed closely behind, at 13 percent. These

complaints make sense when you consider that most

deskless employees perform task-focused work on

a daily basis. So if they don’t get guidance and clear

directions from their managers, it could not only

cause them to make unnecessary mistakes, but those

mistakes could also lead to negative repercussions

for the employees.

More specifically, 10 percent of the UK respondents

said their biggest complaint about their relationship

with their manager is not having access to them,

while just 7 percent of their American counterparts

had the same complaint. Lack of guidance/support

(16 percent) and failure to provide clear instructions

(15 percent) were more common complaints

among the UK respondents, compared to the

American respondents (12 percent and 12 percent,

respectively). Meanwhile, poor or non-existent

communications seems to be a bigger problem in the

US (11 percent) than it is in the UK (8 percent).

Whatever the cause may be for a relationship breakdown between employees and managers, below are useful tips for how both employees and their managers can improve the situation.

∙ Communicate clearly, honestly and frequently:Oftentimes,strainedrelationshipscanbecausedduetoabreakdowninthefrequencyandqualityofcommunications.Communicatewitheachotherasoftenaspossibleandbehonestandclearinhowyoucommunicate.

∙ Go beyond communicating:Bringanopenmindtothetable.Putyourselfintheshoesoftheotherperson.Trytounderstandeachside’sperspectiveandneeds.

∙ Create a safe place for feedback:It’sonethingtoencourageemployeestogivehonest,constructivefeedback.Butifyoudon’tconveyandreiteratetothemthattheyaresafetochallengemanagerswiththeiropinions,youwillsimplyhaveadocileandunengagedworkforcethat’sgoingtohaveonefootoutthedoor.

∙ Treat others with respect:Respectisatwo-waystreet.Buteachpersonhasadifferentexpectationofrespect.Findoutwhateachperson’sexpectationsareandberespectful.

∙ Help others out:Nocompanycanbesuccessfulwithoutteamwork.Ifateammemberorcolleagueneedshelpwithataskorproject,offeryourselfup.Ifanemployeeisstrugglingtohittheirsalesquotaorreceivedanegativecustomerreview,helpthemreachthatquotaorincreasetheircustomersatisfactionscores.It’seasytodwellonthenegative;instead,focusonfindingasolutiontogether.

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The benefits that your company will derive from improving workplace relationships will be tremendous. As we

mentioned earlier, turnover rates are high and job security these days is hard to come by amidst tough economic

times. By improving workplace relationships, your company will be on the path towards increasing employee

loyalty and reducing turnover. That’s a win-win.

What’s your biggest complaint about your relationship with your direct/line manager?

Chart 13

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

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Poor Internal Communications, Lack of Team Unity and Toxic Culture Can Tear Apart Workplace Relationships

Beyond the employee-to-manager relationship,

workplace relationships run across an entire

organization and across all functions, teams, regions

and levels of seniority. So it’s not just important for

employees to forge strong connections and bonds

with their direct supervisor; it’s also beneficial to

interact, engage and build relationships with fellow

colleagues.

But as our study found, forging and maintaining

strong relationships is easier said than done. When

we asked the global respondents to cite the biggest

detriment to workplace relationships, poor/lack of

internal communications (20 percent), lack of team

unity (20 percent) and toxic company culture (18

percent) were cited as the three biggest detriments.

In particular, 22 percent of the US respondents

cited poor/lack of internal communications as

the biggest detriment to workplace relationships,

compared to just 18 percent of the UK respondents.

Americans, as a whole, are known for being direct,

no-nonsense communicators and value consistent

communications to avoid misunderstandings and to

improve relationships. That could potentially be one

reason for why more of the US respondents cited poor

or lack of internal communications as the biggest

detriment to workplace relationships. The more

they value and cherish internal communications, the

more likely it is to damage relationships if and when

it’s delivered poorly or not at all.

Just look at what’s been occurring at the immensely

popular ride-sharing company, Uber, for the last

18 months. Its CEO resigned amid allegations of

improper business allegations, while its head of HR

similarly left the company following rumors that her

team ignored reports of racism. All the while, the

word ‘toxic’ has repeatedly been used to describe

Uber’s work culture and environment. As the

company is now headed for a public IPO, building

a positive culture will be critical in protecting its

reputation, driving sales and revenue growth as well

as maintaining a healthy share price.

What is the biggest detriment to workplace bonds/relationships?

Chart 14

Note: Figures may not add to 100 due to rounding.

20/22The Culture Factor: Improving Employee Loyalty & Relationships

CONCLUSION

Upon analyzing all of our study’s findings, one thing

is crystal clear - culture needs to be given a bigger

seat at the HR table. When workplace culture is

founded on values, such as trust, integrity, respect

and fairness, employees will feel happy, engaged, and

ultimately, become vocal advocates of the company,

both internally and externally. On top of that, they

will feel a stronger sense of connection and loyalty

to the company, which will make them less inclined

to leave.

Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group, has

a unique point of view on how his brand has built

and maintained such a positive, collaborative and

trusting culture. To quote Branson, “There’s no

magic formula for great company culture. The key

is to just treat your staff how you would like to be

treated.” Branson is well known for being a vocal

advocate of the benefits of a people-first culture -

this much is true when you look at the strong levels

of engagement amongst the employees of Virgin

Atlantic. It’s something other organizations can look

to for inspiration to effectively build and maintain a

positive workplace culture.

ABOUT SPEAKAP

Speakap provides branded communication platforms that enable

companies to have structured dialogue with their frontline to support

and inform their deskless workers from anywhere, at any time.

The company’s innovative solution, available on both mobile and

desktop, connects workforces and empowers employees to provide

optimal customer experiences. From messaging and news items to

private groups and events, Speakap provides businesses the opportunity

to deliver relevant and timely content to their workforces and supports

both business growth and employee retention.

Founded in 2011, Speakap has partnered with more than 400

organizations around the globe across various industries - such as

hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and more - and has locations in

New York, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Cologne and Brussels.

More information can be found at www.speakap.com

US Phone:

+1 516 900 5559

Netherlands Phone:

+31 208 204 296

UK Phone:

+44 203 608 5087

Spain Phone:

+34 931 514 516

For Sales

E-mail: sales@speakap.com

Contact us